William Anders: former astronaut behind the famous Earthrise picture from Apollo 8, dies aged 90

Major General William Anders, the astronaut who captured the renowned “Earthrise” picture, showing the planet as a shadowy blue marble from space, has died at the age of 90. The retired astronaut was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed into the water off the San Juan Islands in Washington state.

The news was confirmed by his son, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Greg Anders, telling the PA that “The family is devastated. He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the crash, which crashed and sank near the north end of Jones Island. Greg Anders confirmed his father’s body was recovered on Friday afternoon.

Anders was aboard the Apollo 8 shuttle when it embarked into space in 1968, capturing the first colour image of Earth from space, and cited as an inspiration for the global environment movement showing how delicate Earth looked from space - changing the perception of how humanity viewed the planet.

The photograph, the first colour image of Earth from space, is credited with changing how humans viewed the planet and sparking the global environmental movement for showing how delicate and isolated Earth appeared from space. 

It was a photo, Anders proudly proclaimed, that was his most significant contribution to the space program alongside ensuring the Apollo 8 command module and service work. However, it could have been different as Anders in a later interview after the mission explained his frantic attempts to change from black-and-white film to colour.

“Oh my God, look at that picture over there!” he said as the crew went into their fourth phase around the earth. “There’s the Earth coming up. Wow, is that pretty!”

The Apollo 8 mission in December 1968 was the first human spaceflight to leave low-Earth orbit and travel to the moon and back; it was at the time NASA’s boldest and perhaps most dangerous voyage yet and one that set the stage for the Apollo moon landing seven months later.